This invention relates to a card connector for removably establishing an electrical connection of a card with an electric circuit device, and in particular, to such a card connector with a card ejection mechanism by using a slider or a slidable plate.
JP-A 2000-260524 or JP-A 2001-267013 discloses a card connector comprising an ejection mechanism. The ejection mechanism has a slider, a cam mechanism and a biasing member such as a spring. The slider is able to carry thereon a card such as an IC card, a memory card and a PC card. The cam mechanism controls the position of the slider between first and second positions. When the slider is positioned at the first position, the slider is received in the card connector as well as the card mounted on the slider. When the slider is positioned at the second position, the slider ejects the card from the card connector. The biasing member biases the slider towards the second position. When the card is completely pushed into the card connector, the cam mechanism keeps the slider at the first position. The state where the slider is kept at the first position is called as a locked state. Under the locked state, when the card is pressed again, the cam mechanism releases the slider from the first position, and the slider is then pressed towards the second position by the biasing member. This state where the locked state is released and the slider is able to move away from the first position is called as an unlocked state.
According to the conventional techniques, there arises a problem upon the ejection operation of the card. A projection speed of the card upon the ejection operation depends on a force of the biasing member and on the operator's finger. If the operator does not move away his/her finger from the card immediately after the locked state is released by using the finger, the ejection of the card is blocked by the finger. In order that the once blocked card continues to be ejected from the card connector after the operator's finger is moved away from the card, the biasing member has to have a relatively large force. However, if the biasing member has a relatively large force and if the operator moves away the finger from the card immediately after the locked state is released, the card is strongly pressed out of the card connector by the relatively large force of the biasing member. As a result, the card undesirably projects out of the card connector so that the card is damaged.
The conventional card connector disclosed in JP-A 2001-267013 takes up relatively large width in an instrument on which the card connector is installed. The conventional card connector disclosed in JP-A 2000-260524 takes up relatively large height (thickness). There is also a need to reduce of the size of the card connector.